The present invention generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to a cylinder retaining or latching mechanism for a revolver.
Revolvers typically include a cylinder frame which rotatably supports a revolving cylinder with a plurality of chambers for holding cartridges and a grip frame that provides a structure for mounting and supporting a hand grip attached thereto at the rear of the revolver. The barrel of the revolver is also mounted to the front of or forms part of the cylinder frame.
In some designs such as heavy duty revolvers capable of firing magnum-type loads, a strong one-piece integral frame construction is often preferred which combines both the cylinder and grip frames into one integral unit for added durability needed to sustain the shock loads and recoil resulting from firing such high-caliber revolvers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,898 shows a typical one-piece revolver frame. Other known designs such as the revolver shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,763 utilize a two-piece frame construction in which a separate structurally light and relatively thin grip frame is attached to the more robust cylinder frame which absorbs the bulk of the recoil forces. In such two, piece designs, the grip frame provides not much more than a narrow skeletal framework for mounting a hand grip thereto. The firing control mechanism components including the hammer, trigger, pawl, and related parts are mounted together in a firing control housing that typically is formed as an integral part of the substantially heavier cylinder frame. The firing control housing is typically located in the rear of the cylinder frame since these components operably interact with and therefore must be located proximate to the rear of the cylinder for striking a chambered cartridge. In practice, it is difficult to achieve proper alignment and meshing between the trigger and hammer operably coupled thereto if these firing control components were mounted in separate frames. To withstand the shock and stresses associated with firing the revolver, the cylinder frame including the firing control housing have traditionally been made of metal such as steel or aluminum.
Reducing the weight of the component support structures for firearms and therefore the overall weight is desirable for making the firearm easier for a user to carry. This is especially true for compact concealed-carry firearms where weight is an important consideration. However, both cylinder and sometimes separate grip frames used heretofore for revolvers have traditionally been made completely of metal. This is largely because the firing control components were mounted in the firing control housing portion of the cylinder frame, which necessarily is made of metal. Because the metal cylinder frame is far heavier than the grip frame even in two-piece revolver frame constructions, there was little weight savings possible by simply making the grip frame of a lighter material. Although semi-automatic pistols have used non-metallic polymer grip frames in combination with metal reciprocating slides mounted thereon, the concept of using dual materials in revolvers has not been used heretofore because of the limited potential gains in weight reduction achievable using the foregoing conventional revolver construction with mounting the firing control components in the cylinder frame. Previous use of non-metallic materials such as polymers in revolvers has been largely limited to the non-structural handgrips which typically are attached to the metal grip frame via threaded fasteners.
Accordingly, an improved revolver component support structure and firing control arrangement is desired.